NHRA Winternationals: John Force still knows how to put on a show

Funny Car winner John Force celebrates as he comes out the roof of his hot rod after defeating Matt Hagan in the final with a new national record time of 3.965 seconds at a speed of 323.58 mph. The final round of pro eliminations Sunday February 9, 2014 at the 54th annual NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Khalid alBalooshi (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) all won their respective categories. (Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

POMONA >> Forget the fountain of youth, whatever 64-year-old John Force is drawing his power from these days is a lot more potent.

The 16-time Funny Car champion kicked off the 2014 season with a series of national records at the NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona.

Force opened up qualifying on Friday with a national record run of 3.966 seconds, and followed up with a second run that toped the national records at 324 MPH.

On Sunday, facing Matt Hagan once again in the final round, Force found the record book again with a run of 3.965. Hagan outran Force to win the Auto Club Finals event in November. During that event Force became the first Funny Car driver to make a sub four-second run.

“My ol’ hot rod is just fast,” Force said. “It’s a good race car, amazing. It ran good for the fans.”

Force also spent the weekend chasing sponsors with Ford and Castrol leaving at the end of this season. Force is seeking new revenue sources and found one in PEAK antifreeze, announcing a three-year deal on Friday.

Also on the weekend, Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria became the first woman to break into the three-second club with a 3.997 run.

Top Fuel driver Khalid alBalooshi won for the first time, marking another Pomona victory for Al-Anabi Racing and team manager Alan Johnson, whose drivers have won three consecutive events in Pomona, and five times (with four drivers) since 2010.

Redlands High School product Leah Pritchett topped off a weekend of solid qualifying with a first round run of 3.85, but it was not enough to advance.

The Pro Stock final brought out an old rivalry as Jason Line’s Chevrolet Camero edged V Gaines’ Dodge Avenger.